by Blink, Bob
“I believe we should travel inland before turning north,” Ash’urn said. “We will be less likely to encounter others, and those we do see will be less likely to be expecting someone from Kellmore or Branid so far inside the borders.”
Three days later they approached a small village.
“It’ll be easy enough to skirt around unseen,” Ash’urn explained, “but it might be wise if we invest in some more appropriate local clothing. What you are wearing was obviously purchased along the river and was intended for sale to visitors from outside Lopal.”
“I thought it matched the local style quite well,” Kaler objected.
“Only to the eyes of a foreigner,” Ash’urn countered, pointing out several discrepancies that were obvious once identified.
“I would suggest that Daria and I go in and do some shopping. I can pass as a local, and she can be my niece visiting from up-country.”
“Are you certain you can pass?”
“Quite certain,” Ash’urn replied, but now his accent was thick and mimicked exactly the speech of the locals. “Remember, I was born here.”
“That’s amazing,” Rigo said.
“I have a way with languages,” Ash’urn replied. “I’ve found it works to be able to pass as a local. You will note my dress is a blend that could be almost anything.”
“What about Daria though? Won’t she raise questions?”
“Certainly she is dressed oddly, but I think the attention will be more on the fact she is an attractive young woman. So long as she doesn’t speak, other than short phases of agreement or dissent, I’m certain we can pass.”
They made camp an hour out of the village, and while Kaler and Rigo stayed behind, Daria and Ash’urn headed off into town. They returned just before dark having purchased new clothing for the trio, as well as restocking their travel food. They spent the night and left early, passing the village with a wide margin well before many would be up.
“I don’t like it,” Daria said looking at the narrow pass ahead of them. Kaler voiced his agreement.
The path narrowed and wound its way for a considerable distance between closely spaced stone hillsides with patches of dense brush and trees nestled into the flat areas where there was room. There was no way to go but ahead or back, and it was the kind of place where one could be trapped.
“Yes, I had forgotten what this was like,” admitted Ash’urn. “I wasn’t particularly concerned about such things the last time I was through here. The only other path is to back-track a day or so, then work our way around the current range of mountains and come up the far side. It’ll take a week or more, but it is possible.”
“No one is looking for us,” Rigo argued. “In the worst case we are Kellmorian tourists who are perhaps more inland than is common. We haven’t seen any soldiers, or much of anyone else to worry about. How long before this opens up into forest again?”
“Perhaps a glass of walking at a normal pace,” Ash’urn said, dipping into his memory.
“I vote we continue onward,” Rigo said. “We won’t be able to avoid every questionable area if we are to get where we want to go.”
Somewhat uncertainly, the others agreed to press on. Ash’urn led the way having passed this way before, and he would be the person they would want to speak with anyone they encountered. Hopefully his familiarity with the language and customs would allow him to bluff their way past any interference.
The trail closed in as they made their way down the side of the small hill and into the narrow confines of the valley. The large rocks that lay along the base of the trail had obviously fallen from the steep sides of the rock walls around them. The brush usually extended less than a couple of paces off the trail filling in gaps between the massive stones before running into the vertical walls themselves. Sometimes there were small areas that extended fifty paces or so off the trail in one direction or another. These they watched closely. In addition to soldiers, there was always the chance of encountering highway thieves, although given the lack of foot traffic in this area it wouldn’t be very likely.
The first sign of trouble came when a large man mounted on a gray war-horse rode into the trail in front of them. He had his sword drawn and was backed by five others wearing uniforms of some kind. Ash’urn came to a halt and signaled the others to stop as well. Then they noticed the archers positioned in the trees on either side of them. The waiting archers had chosen their locations for concealment and field of fire. The four travelers were caught in a crossfire. The archers could fire freely without worrying about hitting their own, and anyone trying to flee back down the trail would be exposed long enough that multiple arrows would have a chance at them. With a half dozen archers on either side of the trail, they had little chance of getting away.
The leader shouted for them to throw down their weapons and surrender. Ash’urn tried to argue they were peaceful travelers and questioned why they were being accosted.
“Spies,” yelled the leader pointing at Kaler. You are dressed as locals, but there is no doubt of your origin.”
The man rushed forward, his sword swinging in an attempt to cut Ash’urn from his saddle. Kaler was able to move quickly enough and drew his own blade in time to block the attempt, steel ringing on steel. The encounter was all the archers waiting needed. They released nearly in unison, a dozen arrows flying toward the group.
Rigo prepared to block those arrows he could and was about to release a series of fireballs at the attackers, but he knew it would be too late. There were too many arrows and each of the members of the party had been targeted.
Miraculously, the speeding arrows simply came to a halt in the air, then simply dropped harmlessly to the ground. Almost as one, both parties became aware of a man standing off to one side atop one of the larger rocks, his hand out, a soft glow surrounding his body. One of the archers got off another shot, this one at a range of no more than ten paces directed toward the new comer. The arrow couldn’t miss, but somehow it seemed to, passing almost through the same space as the man. He seemed totally unperturbed by the attempt.
As the archers readied additional arrows, the leader and his supporting swordsmen pressed forward. Kaler was quick to engage, and Daria released a pair of knives that found their mark and reduced the number of fighters. Kaler took down one, then two, and was finally left fighting the last pair. They tried to get on either side of him, but Daria was quick to slip into position, and the remaining soldier suddenly realized his innards were spilling onto the ground. That left Kaler and the leader. That wasn’t even a fair fight. Already the leader was giving ground as Kaler’s hand flashed with the wickedly sharp Kellmore blade.
While this was happening, Rigo released ball after ball of fire at the archers in the left group. He had taken down three of them when a bright flash originated from the man off to his right. The intense beam of energy sliced through the six archers on the right, literally burning them from existence. The remaining three in the group Rigo was fighting tried to flee, but a second bolt took them as well.
Rigo looked to see how his friends were doing and realized the fighting was over. Kaler had finished off the leader, and was walking back to check on Ash’urn who had slipped off his horse and hidden behind one of the boulders. Rigo then turned his eyes toward their savior. The man confidently surveyed the carnage, then jumped down lightly from the rock perch from which he had conducted his part of the battle. Something about the man seemed familiar to Rigo. He also was aware that for the second time since he’d owned it, his necklace was warm against his chest under his shirt.
As the man walked toward him a smile on his face, Rigo was shocked to see why he was familiar. It took a few seconds for him to dig up the name, but there was no doubt it was Burke, the man he’d met briefly in Branid so many months before. Now that he recognized him, Rigo could see he was dressed very much as he’d been before. Even his trim beard was the same.
“Greetings Rigo,” Burke said as he came close. “Seems like you
have a habit of drawing trouble upon yourself.”
“Burke? Is it really you? What in Riso’s name are you doing here? Where did you come from?”
“Lot’s of questions,” Burke replied with a wry grin. “All in due time, my friend. For the moment, I think it would be wise if we got away from this spot for now. We can talk later.”
Rigo looked around and nodded. Burke was right. Then he remembered the warmth against his chest. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the pendant. It was warm to the touch and glowing brightly.
Burke said, “Handy things those pendants. It let me know where you were. Has other capabilities that make them handy as well. Another thing we can talk about later.”
“Are you a wizard?” Rigo asked, hardly daring to believe. After all the searching and talk, to be face to face with someone who appeared to be considerably stronger than himself was overwhelming.
“Clearly so,” replied Burke. “You didn’t really think you were the only one with such abilities, did you?”
Chapter 31
Normally they would have taken a few minutes to see if there was anything that was worth taking from the bodies, but Burke was insistent that they clear the area quickly, so they left the remaining dead. Those who Burke had incinerated with the powerful beam were nothing more than ash. They mounted their horses and followed Burke forward on the trail. He had left a mount a short distance ahead, and he climbed onto the animal quickly and led them through the narrow pass. On the far side, he turned off into the brush, following a path only he seemed to see.
“Where did you come from?” Rigo asked when they had been riding along through the trees for a while.
“Ny’em,” Burke replied.
“What were you doing in Ny’em?” Rigo asked, recalling the time he’d met the man in Branid.
“It was the closest point,” the wizard answered without elaborating.
Closest to what, Rigo wondered, but it was clear Burke wasn’t going to say more until he was ready. Rigo looked over his shoulder at the trio behind him. Kaler shrugged. Ash’urn looked as if his searches had finally been answered. Daria looked cautious as though she wasn’t certain she liked the recent developments. Of the three, Rigo felt his own emotions were closer to those of Daria for some reason. He should have felt like Ash’urn. After all, he’d been searching for someone like Burke for a long time.
They rode in silence for a while, then Kaler spoke up from behind. “Why are we going this way?”
“The lesser king in charge of this area has been making plans to move on Kellmore. He has his people out searching for anything amiss. You four qualify. The main road headed north is going to be too closely watched. This will get us to Ny’em. It’ll take a day or so longer, but we’ll be unlikely to be discovered.”
“We weren’t intending to go to Ny’em,” Rigo said in response to Burke’s statements.
“You are now,” Burke replied brusquely. It was apparent from his voice that Burke now felt himself in control of their plans and destination.
Once again Rigo felt uncomfortable with Burke’s answer, but the man had saved them, and seemed to know more about the area and what was going on than they did. Perhaps it made sense to follow along for now.
Burke lead them northwest. The path twisted and turned as they skirted small mountains and forded a couple of streams. By the time the sun was close to dipping behind the larger range of ridges they were well away from the location where the ambush had occurred.
“We can camp here,” Burke said when they came to a clearing next to a small stream fed pool. Rigo could see signs of an older campfire and wondered if Burke had camped here before on his way from Ny’em.
They tethered the horses on long ropes in a patch of grass off to one side, and settled in to make their camp. Burke chose his own spot without consulting them, and started the fire as if to show off his power.
“I think it’s time to talk,” Rigo said firmly once they had completed the basic setup.
Burke surveyed the group and smiled. “I suppose my arrival was a bit unexpected. All of you know about Rigo and his abilities with magic. That makes this easier because usually I’m dealing with people who are unaware that such capability exists. Like Rigo, I am a wizard. In fact, I’m significantly more accomplished than your friend here. But then I’ve spent better than twenty years being trained in the arts, so I have a decided advantage.”
“You’ve been trained,” Rigo said. “That implies there are others with our abilities. Others who are trained and presumably as capable if they were the teachers.”
“That is correct. There is a small group of us. We have been slowly growing our numbers as we locate and recruit those with the power.”
“How come no one knows about you?” Daria asked, her suspicions still active under her calm demeanor.
“We have chosen to remain hidden for now. The fear of magic is ingrained in people, and we are small in number. Until we are better established, it is felt we should stay on our own.”
“Where are you located?” Ash’urn asked quietly. “I have searched the whole of the land looking for you.”
Burke shot him a glance. “Our location is secret, for the reasons I just explained to you.”
“I thought it was your intention to take us there?” Kaler asked. “If so, we will find out soon enough anyway.”
“Our means of travel will surprise you. It is such that you won’t know where the settlement is located. That is necessary if we are to remain hidden.”
“How did you find us?” Daria asked pointedly. It was a good question. They had been out of contact for days and loose in the wilderness, yet Burke had seemingly walked right to them.
“I was looking for Rigo here. I’ve been sent to recruit him.”
“That doesn’t explain how you found us,” Kaler noted.
“That is so,” Burke replied. He pointed to Rigo’s chest where the pendant was hidden. “That told me where you were,” he said.
Rigo looked down where Burke was pointing then withdrew the glowing medallion. “This guided you?”
“That’s one of its functions. We release a number of them throughout the lands. Different styles, of course, for Kellmore and Lopal as different gods are worshipped, but the idea is the same. They gravitate toward anyone with the ability. Once a person such as yourself finds and acquires one of these, it triggers a signal back to us in the settlement. We then know where it is.”
Thinking of his staff Rigo asked. “You can’t simply send it off to seek out those with the power? The individual must find it and elect to acquire it?”
“It would be possible to do as you say, but consider the reaction of someone if such an object were to suddenly appear around their neck. It would be cast off in fear. If you acquire it on your own, then your are likely to wear it until you can be found. It takes time to travel to where the person with power is located, you realize.”
“You said there are other uses,” Rigo noted.
“You see how it glows,” Burke said. “How many times have you seen it do that?”
“Never actually, although there is one other time I suspect it glowed, but I didn’t witness it. It grew warm once before. That was the last time we met.”
“That would be the case. You see, it turns warm and glows to alert you to the presence of another with the power. It is glowing now because I am here. The fact it has never glowed for you except those two occasions indicates you have never been in the presence of another with the power.”
“I can see reasons why it might be inconvenient to have others aware of where I am at all times,” Rigo noted.
“The tracking ability can be disabled,” Burke explained.
“And how would I do that?” Rigo asked.
“That is something you will be taught once we get where we are going. It is rather simple and will be part of your training.”
Rigo noted that Burke felt it simple, but had avoided explaining how it might be done.
“You must have known the last time we met that I had ability with the power. How come you didn’t recruit me at that time?”
Rigo knew that had Burke approached him back then, he would have followed the man eagerly. Now for some reason, he was reluctant to simply go along with his wishes. There was something about the man’s approach.
“That had been the intent actually. I was to reveal myself and bring you back. However, your staff was a surprise. It is somewhat unique. In fact, there is only one other known that is anything like it. Yours appears to be the more powerful and there was a question as to why it had aligned itself with you. I decided it was best to return home and discuss the matter with the Directorate. By the time a decision was made, you had disappeared.”
“The pendant was stolen,” Rigo said softly.
“That would explain it,” Burke agreed. “It took the pendant, which was now linked to you, some time to find its way back into your possession. It lacks the power of your staff.”
“Do you know what my staff is?” Rigo asked.
“Not exactly, although like the other one that exists it is extremely old and has powers we still don’t understand. It comes from a time before the dying out, when those with magic were almost wiped from the world.”
“Why would it have chosen me?”
“That is one question the Directorate is anxious to understand.”
“When will we meet this Directorate of yours?” Daria asked. She had been listening to the discussion between the two wizards with great interest.
“Another two days will bring us to the outskirts of Ny’em. From there we can activate the transfer to our destination.”
“And we can’t just go direct?” she asked.
“Unfortunately no. There remain points from which transfer can be activated. They are remnants from the past. One must be sufficiently close to use them. Otherwise, we must all travel the same slow way.”